


How long is whenever

by Shitgetapen



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Drift Hangover, Drift Side Effects, Gen, M/M, living nightmares and night terrors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-28
Updated: 2014-01-28
Packaged: 2018-01-10 09:31:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1158039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shitgetapen/pseuds/Shitgetapen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one told them about drift hangovers. And if they did, they’re not sure if it would have helped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How long is whenever

Nobody told Newt or Hermann about drift hangovers. And if they did, well they were both pretty sure it was worse for them because they were both stuck with most annoying person in the world, aka each other.

Mako and Raleigh just laughed at them when they were sharing sedatives after the breach was closed, (of course after the congratulations and cheers, just then they were both pulled aside for medical exams). “You just gotta work through it. Take some pain killers, talk about some stuff. It’ll be over in… I don’t know, whenever.” Raleigh said this half asleep into Mako’s shoulder, and gave her a look which was both despairing and a little cheerfully smug, and something else communicated through the connection they still had through their own hangover.

“Okay.” Newt nodded hesitantly and Hermann sniffed before cutting in “How long is whenever?”

“The stronger or more intense the drift, and longer you were connected are both factors. And some of it is psychological which you have to deal with yourself in your own time. So honestly I have no idea.” Mako said like she was reading from a text book.

Shortly after, they left grumbling slightly. Their high was over a little, and it was still hard to believe they’d saved the world. One of them thought (it was hard to work out who was thinking what in their mind) ‘We’re actually rock stars now.’ And they looked at each other grinning and Newt elbowed Hermann in the ribs as they walked toward the noise of the party.

The rest of the evening wasn’t too bad, apart from a few nose bleeds, nausea, headaches, and constantly having to look at the back of meds to see if you could drink with them. Newt had assured Hermann that the sedatives earlier were just baby ones and wore off pretty quick, so they could probably drink. He’d been on enough drugs he assured Hermann, for a level of trust to be built up around the subject. The painkillers were the dubious ones, but they decided that saving the world was as good an excuse as any if they ended up in the medical bay.

Drinking was a bad idea.

Apparently when consciousness was already blurred, painkillers and alcohol only make things worse. Hermann began to feel the pangs from Newt’s first drift in the middle of taking with a Russian engineer, he ran(/hobbled) away shaking trying to banish the sound of his own voice saying ‘impossible’ over rows of teeth which seemed to be consuming the hall.

Newt almost fell over when his hip suddenly began to throb with a mysterious pain, he’s not sure if he said ‘mom’ out loud but he felt it, he could see a woman he didn’t recognise as his mother looking at him worriedly. “I was going to be a pilot.”

_Impossible._

Every time they shook one image lose another one came to replace it, they saw each other’s scenes and felt the emotions despite being separated  early on in the party by people hungry for each of their stories. In the end they were both helped to a big sofa that had been moved to the main Jaeger bay by someone or another. Hermann was the first to speak, “I’m sorry.” And newt felt the apology more than heard it, it cut through the memory of him finding his own body on the floor with the ominous Kaiju talking over everying, he felt the overwhelming sympathy that was directed towards him.

“No I’m sorry.” Newt sighed and leaned on Hermann on impulse, shuddering when he felt a phantom touch on his own shoulder.

They sat like that for a while trying to focus on each other’s company, talking about inane things like the bad weather in Hong Kong, the Russians vodka, arguing over trivial things just to feel more like themselves,  and tentatively explained bits of what they saw. Neither noticed the hall slowly empty, leaving only them and scattered groups of stragglers.

“Those could have been your last words.” ( _Why were you thinking about me?_ ) Hermann tutted and put his arm around him, rolling his eyes for good measure.

“Well I had to let you know I won somehow.” ( _Because I care_ ) Newt pouted and even scooted closer until he was practically in Hermann’s lap.

( _I thought that much was obvious_ )

Both their cheeks were warmed from either the strange amount of sentiment or the booze which was still coursing through their systems. One of them briefly thought about kissing the other just to break the tension, which could have been for better or for worse. Instead they appreciated the moment of silence and peace they had managed to create in the previous whirlpool they had been thrust into.

_It’s late_

That night after they had returned to their respective rooms, they spasmed through nightmares and stubbornness until they found each other, and pressed themselves as tightly as they were on the sofas trying to share a silent dream together, only to woken at the same moment by bright blue eyes staring back at them and sharp claws tearing them apart.

The nights after followed the same format until there was no point even trying to sleep in their own beds. And the days, they were full of the usual bickering (though to most it seemed like they were strangely quiet), odd moments where one did something with no apparent thought behind it, waking nightmare’s, and tender moment’s which can’t be translated into words.

They seemed to be rewriting the rule book on both their respective topics, and on relationships. They were putting together a book in record time, combining their research through inspired parallels, and they knew when they were being thought about, and the not quite kisses which became constants between them. Newt now found if he tried to look into Hermann’s mind too much he was met with a wall of numbers which he had to navigate, and if he continued Hermann kicked him under the table. They fell into the new aspect of their relationship with a strange ease.

_How long is whenever?_

_Do I want this to end?_

No one told them about drift hangovers. And if they did, they’re not sure if it would have helped.

**Author's Note:**

> Another thing that's been on my blog for months but forgot to post here.
> 
> I really liked this one though.


End file.
